'non-precious' originates from the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' and the word 'precious' from Latin 'pretiosus', meaning 'of great value'.

'non-precious' was formed by adding the prefix 'non-' to 'precious', which came from the Old French 'precius', eventually becoming the modern English word 'precious'.

Initially, 'precious' meant 'of great value', and 'non-precious' was coined to mean the opposite, 'not of great value'.